April 27, 2024; TAMPA, FLORIDA; Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (77) skates with the puck against the Florida Panthers during Game 4 of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Clemente Neichel-USA TODAY Sports Tampa Bay Lightning defensive end Victor Hedman isn’t going anywhere.
Hedman, who played 15 seasons in the NHL with Tampa Bay, signed a four-year, $32 million extension Tuesday that will keep him with the Lightning through the 2028-29 season.
Hedman, 33, had 76 points (13 goals, 63 assists) in 78 games last season.
Hedman has 156 goals and 572 assists in 1,052 games. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, a six-time All-Star, and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman in 2018 and the Conn Smith Trophy as playoff MVP in 2020.
Tampa Bay also signed Emil Martinsen-Lilleberg to a two-year, $1.6 million extension and free agent Cam Atkinson to a one-year, $900,000 contract.
–Pavel Buchnevich has signed a new six-year, $48 million contract with the St. Louis Blues.
Buchnevich, 29, had 63 points (27 goals, 36 assists) in 80 games last season, his third season in St. Louis. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the New York Rangers (2016-21), where he had 162 goals and 239 assists in 517 games in the NHL.
The Blues were also active in the trade market, acquiring forward Radek Paxa from the Dallas Stars for future draft compensation. St. Louis also sent future considerations to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward Mathieu Joseph and a 2025 third-round pick.
Corey Schueneman and Adam Jiricek (entry-level contracts) also signed with the Blues. Joseph’s brother Pierre-Olivier Joseph is also said to be joining the team.
–Defenseman Jake Middleton signed a four-year, $17.4 million extension to remain with the Minnesota Wild.
Middleton, 28, has seven goals and 18 assists in 80 games during the 2023-24 season. He played three seasons in Minnesota after the San Jose Sharks traded him to the Wild in March 2022.
Middleton has 57 points (14 goals, 43 assists) in 239 games for San Jose (2018-22) and Minnesota.
–Forward Viktor Olofsson joins the Vegas Golden Knights on a one-year contract worth $1,075,000.
Olofsson, 28, played six seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, recording 182 points (90 goals, 92 assists) in 314 games.
In just 51 games last season, Olofsson scored seven goals and provided eight assists. He has scored 20 goals in each of the last two seasons.
–The Toronto Maples Leafs made headlines by signing free agents Dakota Mermis, Philip Myers and Cedric Pare to one-year deals.
Mermis, 30, played a career-high 47 games for Minnesota last season, recording three goals and five assists. Myers, 27, played just five games for Tampa Bay in 2023-24, and Pare, 25, has yet to see the ice in an NHL game.
–The Rangers, who won the President’s Trophy last season, signed free agents Casey Fitzgerald and Bo Gruels.
Grools appeared in 45 games for the Anaheim Ducks in the 2023-24 season, while Fitzgerald only played in the AHL.
–The Florida Panthers, seeking a second straight Stanley Cup title, have signed MacKenzie Entwistle to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000, and are set to sign Nate Schmidt to a one-year, $800,000 contract.
–The San Jose Sharks, coming off one of the NHL’s worst seasons, signed Lucas Carlson to a two-year deal and Jimmy Schilt to a one-year contract.
–Field level media
